The bottom line is clear: Our vital interests in Afghanistan are limited and military victory is not the key to achieving them. On the contrary, waging a lengthy counterinsurgency war in Afghanistan may well do more to aid Taliban recruiting than to dismantle the group, help spread conflict further into Pakistan, unify radical groups that might otherwise be quarreling amongst themselves, threaten the long-term health of the U.S. economy, and prevent the U.S. government from turning its full attention to other pressing problems. -- Afghanistan Study Group

It is a thankless and increasingly deadly job, and one so mired in
graft that the drivers see a fraction of the cash paid by US military
paymasters, with the rest skimmed by middlemen or even going into the
hands of insurgents for "protection".

Only this week, three of Habibullah's [owner of a small company] trucks were attacked and
burned by Taliban amid the rugged mountains of Nuristan, a virtual no-go
zone for Nato soldiers after heavy past losses and now garrisoned by a
handful of Afghan troops and police.. . .One of our drivers was killed. We brought his body back to Jalalabad,"
Habibullah said. "His wife came and grabbed me by my collar, tearing my
shirt and shouting 'you killed my husband'. I had to give her some
money. The Americans don't help with that."

Pressure from the international community has forced Mr Karzai to look
as if he is serious about tackling the corruption that has infested
every layer of his administration. On Friday, he issued a degree
ordering government officials to be transparent in their activities. "The
decree should be implemented in an honest, responsible manner by
government bodies otherwise it will be a piece of old paper," Mr Lodin
told TOLOnews.

Members of Parliament agree with him. "Afghan lawmakers on Saturday called President Hamid Karzai's plan for sweeping reforms "ridiculous" and "deceiving." . . . Parliamentarians derided the decree saying it will not benefit Afghanistan unless he sacks corrupt minister and officials."